Exhibition labels
255: Token, The Uncharitable Monopolizer
Token, The Uncharitable Monopolizer This parody of a British trade token caricatures Prime Minister Pitt the Younger as ‘The Uncharitable Monopolizer’, who is accused of starving the poor. With a skullcap labelled ‘Possession’ and decorated with the Devil hoarding wheat,...
256: A bundle of asparagus
Obsessed with asparagus, Coorte portrayed bundles of this expensive but locally grown delicacy many times. Using various artistic devices (dramatic spot lighting, plain dark background, forward placement), he creates a brilliant illusion of reality and elevates his humble and unusual...
257: Summer
Summer is personified here as a fantastical man composed entirely from appropriate seasonal food. It was originally part of a now-dispersed set of The Four Seasons, inspired by Giuseppe Arcimboldo’s bizarre anthropomorphic paintings of the Seasons and Elements made for...
258: Still life of vegetables and fruit with a silver platter on a ledge
Still life of vegetables and fruit with a silver platter on a ledge This is a homage to Nature’s bounty and the artist’s skill in painterly illusionism. An exotic pineapple and three pomegranates join locally-grown grapes, figs, and plums on...
Deceptive tableware
By the 1750s, trompe l’oeil (‘trick the eye’) tableware had become the height of fashion on elegant tables across Europe. Sometimes, the ceramic form identified the food within, so the dish with heaped crayfish cover (261) was probably for crayfish...
259: Tureen and cover in the form of a carp
Chelsea Porcelain Manufactory, England, c.1754 – 6 Soft-paste porcelain, painted overglaze in enamels Given by Mrs W.D. Dickson (C.36 & A-1932)
260: Trompe l’oeil plate of mussels
Rouen, France, c.1750–1800 Tin-glazed and painted earthenware Dr J.W.L. Glaisher Bequest (C.2293-1928)
261: Trompe l’oeil dish and cover
Trompe l’oeil dish and cover in the form of a heap of crayfish Rouen, France, c.1750 –1800 Tin-glazed and painted earthenware Dr J.W.L. Glaisher Bequest (C.2294-1928)
262: Tureen and cover
Tureen and cover in the form of a cabbage with caterpillars Probably Brussels, Belgium or possibly Delft, Netherlands, c.1750 – 80 Tin-glazed and painted earthenware Dr J.W.L. Glaisher Bequest (C.2392 & A-1928)
263: Tureen and cover
Tureen and cover in the form of a bunch of asparagus Greek A Factory, Delft, Netherlands, c.1757–65 Tin-glazed and painted earthenware Dr J.W.L. Glaisher Bequest (C.2740 & A-1928)
264: Sugar bowl and cover in the form of a cauliflower
Factory of Josiah Wedgwood (1730 – 95), Burslem, Staffordshire, England, c.1759 –75 Lead-glazed earthenware Given by Mrs E.S. Jenkins (C.6 & A-1951)
265: Tureen and cover
Tureen and cover in the form of a cauliflower Delft, Netherlands, c.1750 –75 Tin-glazed earthenware Dr J.W.L. Glaisher Bequest (C.2742 & A-1928)
266: Tureen and cover
Tureen and cover in the form of a cauliflower (one of a pair) Delft, Netherlands, c.1750–75 Tin-glazed earthenware Dr J.W.L. Glaisher Bequest (C.2741.1 & A-1928)
267: Box in the form of a melon with leaves
Possibly Höchst Faience Factory, Mainz, Germany or Strasbourg Faience Factory, France Tin-glazed earthenware Dr J.W.L. Glaisher Bequest (C.2886 & A-1928)
268: Tureen and cover
Tureen and cover in the form of a melon on a leaf-shaped plate Delft, Netherlands, c.1750 – 70 Tin-glazed earthenware Dr J.W.L. Glaisher Bequest (C.2743 & A-1928)
269: Tureen and cover in the form of a melon on an attached dish-shaped stand
Possibly Klug-Hünerwadel Factory, Lenzburg, Switzerland, c.1762 – 7 Tin-glazed earthenware Dr J.W.L. Glaisher Bequest (C.2978 & A-1928)
270: Trompe l’oeil plate of yellow plums
Nevers, France, c.1750 – 1800 Tin-glazed earthenware Dr J.W.L. Glaisher Bequest (C.2320-1928)
271: Box in the form of a bunch of grapes
Possibly factory of Karl Heinrich, Frankfurt, Germany, c.1770 Tin-glazed earthenware Dr J.W.L. Glaisher Bequest (C.2928 & A-1928)
272: Trompe l’oeil plate of fruit (possibly figs)
Alcora Factory, Valencia, Spain, c.1765 – 85 Tin-glazed earthenware Dr J.W.L. Glaisher Bequest (C.2138-1928)
273 & 274: Pair of two-handled vases and covers with fictive fruit and vegetation
Ceramic tableware in the form of animals, vegetables, and fruit was intended to deceive, surprise, and amuse diners, and to create the impression of great abundance on dining tables and sideboards. These vibrant and vivacious ornamental vase-covers made by the...
